Panel assembly joint



Feb. 22, 1966 N. EDGAR 3,236,014

PANEL ASSEMBLY JOINT Filed Oct. 2, 1961 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 f lU'- ,1 73% *I I F I P |"m.. I- q n IHI- l 4 nu 4 II- 2 II I 1% 7/ 1 L --l77 '-fl v Inventor F 41 NORMAN GAR Attorney Feb. 22, 1966 N. EDGAR 3,236,014

PANEL ASSEMBLY JOINT Filed 001;. 2, 1961 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 EIg g 2/ *T 2/4 435 3 1 2732:? P v A7 2 6 2 I 12 Q t" Z Z 13w Inventor NORMAN EDGAR Attorney Feb. 22, 1966 N. EDGAR PANEL ASSEMBLY JOINT 3 Sheets-Sheet :3

Filed Oct. 2, 1961 Attorney United States Patent Ofiice 3,236,014 Patented Feb. 22, 1966 BUILDING CONSTRUCTION This invention relates to buildings in the nature of shelters, huts, camps and other structures normally made primarily from wood.

In erecting buildings of this type, considerable labour is required and the parts including beams, panels and so on are connected permanently and can only be dismantled at the cost of destroying or damaging the structural members. Insulation requires special skill and additional labour to the normal earpentering and other skilled work that goes into making a frame building. Putting up these buildings also requires considerable time.

The applicant has now developed a form of construction which enables buildings for the uses described and others to be erected in a fraction of the time now required and in such a manner that the building can be dismantled quickly and without damage to the structural parts. The insulation is contained within the prefabricated structural members in such a way that no eifort is needed other than the normal assembly of the structural members to install the insulation. The structural members are connected by built-in joint parts. Full insulation is, thus, automatically effected as the building is assembled. In this way, the disadvantages mentioned and other disadvantages of prior art methods of construction are avoided and certain positive advantages provided as will become evident from the following description.

THE APPLICANTS DEVELOPMENT Briefly, the applicants construction employs mating structural members in the nature of panels, which are assembled together to form the floor, walls and roof of the building. Each panel has an integral joint component extending entirely or almost entirely about its periphery. More specifically, taking a wall panel for example, four feet by eight feet, the top is provided with a male joint member and the bottom with a female joint member each four feet long, while the sides carry male and female members respectively, eight feet long.

A joint between panels, is formed between a male joint-forming member of one panel and a female jointforming member of the other panel. The male jointforming member comprises a tongue which projects from the periphery of the panel made up, in a preferred form, of a blunt wedge-shaped hollow elongated channel member having terminal flanges anchored in the panel, preferably directly inside the facing. In the female joint memher, a channel member is countersunk in the body of the panel, preferably with its flanges bonded to the interior of the panel facing members anl the edges of the flanges being coextensive with the edges of the facing. The female channel member is of blunt wedge-shaped internal contour adapted to mate with the male member. In the actual joint, the exposed surfaces of the male and female members are in contact and the ends of the facings of the respective panels abut to form a continuous insulated wall.

The terminal ends of the flanges of the female channel member are coextensive with the ends of the facing and abut a check-shoulder running along the base of the male channel member. The male channel member is filled with insulating material supplementing the insulating material between the facings of the respective panels at each side of the joint. This may be thesame insulating mem-.

ber as between the facings of the panel proper and may actually be a continuation of this facing or there may be a stringer intervening the insulating material of the panel,

proper and the insulating material within the male channel member. There is a completely Weather-proof seal at the joint :when the panels are mated, there being no direct passage from one side of the panel to the other, but only a circuitous line of contact between the faces of the male and female channel members.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION Having generally described the invention, it will be referred to in more detail by the reference to the ac companying drawings, which illustrate preferred embodiments, and in which FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a preferred form of of building constructed according to the invention.

FIGURE 2 is an exploded view, showing various main parts making up the building of FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 3 is an enlarged fragmentary vertical crosssection substantially along the line 33 of FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 4 is an enlarged vertical fragmentary transverse cross-section along the line 4-4 of FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 5 is an enlarged fragmentary cross-section along the line 55 of FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 6 is an enlarged fragmentary cross-section showing a bolt connection between structural members in the building of the previous figures.

FIGURE 7 is a greatly enlarged cross-section through a joint between wall panels in the building of FIGURE 1 to show the construction more clearly.

FIGURE 8 is an enlarged cross-section through an alternative form of joint.

FIGURE 9 is an enlarged horizontal cross-section along the line 99 of FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 10 is an enlarged fragmentary broken view with parts broken away to show the relationship of a female joint member to other components of a panel and a perspective view of a mating male joint member similarly shown.

FIGURE 11 is a fragmentary perspective view showing a panel joint arrangement on the edge of a roof.

FIGURE 12 is a fragmentary perspective view showing a roof joint arrangement adapted to mate with that of FIGURE 11.

FIGURE 13 is a perspective view of a panel which is broken centrally in both directions to reduce its dimensions to fit into the drawing.

FIGURE 14 is a perspective view of a corner of a building of FIGURE 1 with a corner of a panel shown in exploded relationship.

FIGURE 15 is a bottom fragmentary plan' view of the wall panel shown in FIGURE 14.

GENERAL ARRANGEMENT Referring more particularly to the drawings, a building is shown, made up of a number of prefabricated wall panels A, connected to each other and to a number of prefabricated roof panels B, end panels C, and floor panels D set on foundation blocks E. Some of the panels and other parts have been given subscripts, as for example D C etc., to designate panels of special construction,

for example, corners, panels, etc., to differentiate them- Similar joining arrange-- ments connect the respective side panels A together, the.

respective roof panels B and floor panels D. At the corners, special joints J are provided as will be clear from the following description.

Individual panels and their connection For the purpose of describing the joints, reference will first be made to the structure of a typical panel A, as shown generally in FIGURE 13. The body of the panel A is made up of rigid parallel spaced apart facings 21 and 23 of sheet material intervened by insulation 22. The facings 21 and 23 extend in each direction between terminal edges 21a, 21b respectively, which end in male and female joint members M and F respectively.

In the preferred construction shown, the members M and F are hollow channel male and female members (tongue and grooved) of a form to be described. In the construction shown, there are rigid structural members or stringers, in this case, of wood, 25, abutting the male members M, and 26 abutting the female members F, and intervening the members M and F and the insulation 22.

The relationship between the panel proper and the members M and F, will best be seen in FIGURE 10, which is a fragmentary exploded view, in which the members M and F are shown in position to be brought together. The member F is an elongated rigid hollow channel having a web 31 and a diverging side flange 33. In the form shown the channel members are of glass fiberreinforced polyester. Each flange 33 has a plane inner face and outer faces having a portion 33b perpendicular to the Web 31. To this end, the flange 33 thickens from its point of departure from the Web 31 to the line 33a and then tapers in thickness throughout the portion 33b. The faces 33b are parallel to the panels 21 and 23 and intimately bonded thereto, with an adhesive. The stringer 26 abuts the web 31 and is connected thereto. The members 21, 23, 26, and the flanges 33 are closely bonded together and the edges 21b of the side panels are flush with the edges 330 of the flanges 33.

Turning now to the male joint component, the member M is an elongated hollow channel made up of a web 41 and side flanges 43 which diverge from the Web and are stepped as at 43a to be provided with terminal cornices 43b, having their faces parallel to the panels 21 and 23. Each cornice 43b is juxtaposed to and adhesively connected to the side-panels 21, 23 and the edges 23a terminate flush with the step 43b, which serves as a check shoulder. The insulation 22 between the facings 21, 23 extends up to the flanges 43b and a stringer or structural member 25 is located between the cornices 43a. The void Within the member M between the stringer'25 and the web 41 is filled with insulation, for example rock wool.

The stringers 25 and 26 next to the male and female joints may, if desired, be dispensed with. Then the in-' sulation 22 can extend right up to the webs 31 and 41, respectively.

The relationship between the edges of respective panels and between the channel members M and F will be readily seen in FIGURE 7, considered in conjunction with FIG- URE 10. Considering FIGURE 10, for example, the male and female panels will be brought together with the male member M introduced into the female member F until the mmebers are in the relative position shown in FIGURE 7. The entire exposed inner face of the web 31 and flanges 33 of the member F will come into contact with the exposed outer faces of the web 41 and flanges 43 of the member M. The exposed edges 330 of the female member will come into contact with the steps 43a of the member M and the ends 21a and 21b of respective panels A will abut. Nails or screws may be run through the stringer 25 or 26 and the flange of the member M or F, at intervals, for additional stability.

In this way, a joint is formed in which there is no direct passage from one side of the resulting panel to the other, only a circuitous point of contact between the surfaces of the members M and F. Insulation 27a in the male member intervenes that would normally be a direct line through the joint.

An alternative form of panel joint is shown in FIG- URE 8. The difference here is that the Wall is somewhat thicker than the actual joint members so that the female member F is actually embedded in a rigid stringer 126, whereas the lower part of the flange 14312 in the male member M, is embedded in the member rather than being connected to the facings 21 and 23. This is accomplished by preslotting the stringers 125 to receive the flanges 14319 and inserting the latter, With adhesive applied to complete the connection. To accommodate the member F, the stringer 126 is provided with a groove into which the member F is adhesively secured.

Corners A typical corner construction between wall and floor panels A and D respectively, is shown in FIGURE 14. Here a typical male joint member M of floor panel D enters a female joint member F forming a part of the panel A The members M and F are anchored to the respective panels in a manner clear from the description and drawings. The corner joint is made between the male member M on the panel A and a mating female member on a panel C (not shown in FIGURE 14). The female joint member P of the wall panel A turns the corner, as shown in FIGURE 14, and in the bottom plan view of FIGURE 15.

Roof-wall connection A typical roof-wall joint is shown in FIGURE 3 as I and in further detail in FIGURES 11 and 12. The structure of the roof joint is similar to that of the wall panels,

except that the female member F is eccentrically set in.

a longitudinally extending stringer 226 of the roof. Respective roof panels B are connected together as shown in FIGURES 11 and 12. The male joint is made up of a male member M and a short-male member M which is really a continuation of M but leaving a gap to accommodate F Likewise, the mating panel B is provided with female members F and F mating with the male members-M and M respectively and a member F adapted to form a continuation of F The member M need only be a block and the member E, a receiving pocket, although these members can be of the same preferred construction as the male and female members M and F, if desired.

At each end of the roof the panels B are slightly larger and provided with a longitudinal groove, similar to the wall panels to mate with outstanding male joint of triangular end panels C and C forming the upper part of end wall C.

Roof construction The construction at the ridge of the roof, showing how panels B, at either side of the roof are joined together, is best seen in FIGURE 4. The roof panels B abut in sloped edges 51 of beams 55 bordering the panels B and the joint thus made covered by a plate 53. The panels B are held by bolts 53 which extend through the beams 55 to engage in suitable tapped sockets in twin ridge pole members 57, which can extend the entire length of the roof. These members 57 can be made up to suit buildings of different lengths. The members 57 are clamped together in a lateral direction by bolts 61 and also through U-shaped metal brackets 59, each of which is held to a truss T, as shown. This structure holds the truss in place, at the centre of the building. Each end of the truss is held in a bracket 62, which is bolted to a side wall panel A and to a roof panel B, as shown. There is a truss about every two panels in a typical construction, i.e. about every 8 feet. This structure rigidifies the roof and keeps it from sagging in the centre.

Materials The materials from which the various components of the building may be made can vary. For example, the panels A, B, C, etc., are faced with relatively thin facings 21 and 23, of material, which may be plywood, metal, or any other impervious sheet material. The insulating material 22 may be foam insulation, that is, synthetic resin foam, raw wool or other insulating material, as will be understood by one skilled in the art. The insulating batt 27a within the male members M may be the same as the insulation 22. Where the male member M abuts a stringer 25, it may be more convenient to use a wool-like material to pack the hollow channel M. The stringers and other massive joint components may be of wood. Various connecting parts are shown, for example, bolts, etc., which are best of metal and the roof cap 53, preferably of glass fiber polyester resin sheet material, as is the molding 71 about the bottom edge of the building. However, these members can be of metal or other suitable material. The male and female members M and F. are preferably of molded glass fiber polyester construc-. tion. The flanges of these members are bonded to the facing members 21 and 23, or other facing members or within the groove of the stringers 125 and 126 by suitable adhesive, for example, an epoxy resin.

The joints in the floor are preferably staggered in relation to the joints in the wall so as to avoid having a continuous joint in one particular location in the building.

Erection of components The erection of the building is quite simple, as will be understood by one skilled in the art. The panels are merely brought together in the relationship shown and described and the male and female joint members mated 9 and adhesively secured together and the structural clamping, bracing, or reinforcing metal members applied where desired. If the building designed is to be dismantled, the joint members need not be held together by permanent adhesive, but their mere mating together is effective to hold the building in erected condition with removable tie bolts or other securing members securing key parts together. The outside of the joints can be taped with adhesive tape G, if desired, for example, where extremely high velocity winds are encountered, but this is usually not necessary.

Advantages A building erected with panels of the preferred form described, withstand Winds of one-hundred-miles per hour with no apparent penetration of drafts. The building requires a minimum of screws, nuts or bolts since actually cooperation between the male and female joint members retains the prefabricated panels in place and prevents them from displacement. The facings of the panels can be painted so that no painting of the erected building is required.

I claim:

A building, comprising, a floor, walls, and a roof, each made up of a plurality of abutting sections, each floor section being provided with an upwardly extending marginal wedge-shaped protuberance thereby to form a continuous convex ring round the entire periphery of the floor, each roof section being provided with a concavity complementary to the shape of said protuberance thereby to form a continuous concave ring round the entire periphery of the roof, each wall section being provided with a wedge-shaped protuberance similar in shape to that extending upwardly from the floor section at its upper end thereby to form a continuous convex ring at the top of the wall equal in length and fitting into the complementary ring in the roof section, each Wall section having a concavity at its bottom margin thereby to form at the bottom of the walls a continuous con-cave ring of the same length as the continuous convex ring of the floor complementary thereto and receiving it, each wall section having a wedge-shaped protuberance at one end and a concavity complementary to the shape of said protuberance at the other end, each fitting into a complementary part on an adjoining section, the interlocking of the respective convex and concave rings and the protuberances and concavities locking the sections together, the protuberances being shaped to be received endwise in a snug fit by the concavities, each wedge-shaped protuberance being formed of an elongated symmetrical one-piece male channel member comprising a web provided with twin flanges extending from the sides thereof at an outwardly diverging angle, said flanges being stepped outwards beyond an initial major part to include a terminal cornice perpendicular to said Web and a step having outer and inner surfaces parallel to the Web between said flange and said cornice, and each complementary member comprising a symmetrical one-piece female channel member comprising a web and a pair of outwardly diverging side flanges each having a plane inner face and a thickness which increases from the intersec tion of said web and each of said diverging side flanges to a maximum and then decreases to a minimum at the outer extremity of said flange presenting therebetween a channel receiving the male protuberance of the next adjacent section, the flanges of the female channel member terminating in straight edges abutting the steps of the male channel member of said next adjacent section.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 484,413 10/1892 Espitallier 52199 627,681 6/1899 Brooks 2092 X 1,854,396 4/1932 Davis 52483 2,009,056 7/ 1935 Schafiert 52420 2,048,457 7/1936 Mauser 52580 2,059,664 11/ 1936 Tashjian 52589 2,142,305 1/1939 Davis 52589 2,270,672 1/ 1942 Heeren 52601 2,280,687 4/1942 Connelly 5292 2,412,242 12/1946 Beaud 5292 2,495,862 1/1950 Osborn 52850 2,585,051 2/ 1952 Simon 5290 2,600,140 6/1952 Torseth 52282 X 2,794,293 6/1957 Milrod 4626 2,844,848 7/1958 Couse 52309 2,856,039 10/ 1958 Hawkinson 52241 2,947,041 8/ 1960 Imbrecht 522 3,025,198 3/1962 Dunn 52309 X 3,081,579 3/1963 Pelley 5289 FOREIGN PATENTS 803,761 1936 France. 1,156,765 1957 France.

150,866 1920 Great Britain.

517,615 1950 Great Britain.

OTHER REFERENCES RICHARD W. COOKE, JR., Primary Examiner.

WILLIAM I. MUSHAKE, JACOB L. NACKENOFF,

Examiners. 

